Rand Paul Says His Temper Doesn’t Discriminate Based On Gender

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is an equal-opportunity hater of journalists, regardless of whether they’re men or women.

“I think I’ve been universally short-tempered with both male and female reporters. I’ll own up to that,” he said Wednesday in an interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. “I’ll have to get better at holding my tongue and holding my temper. But I think it’s pretty equal-opportunity.”

The Kentucky Republican, who is running for president, got heated with NBC’s Savannah Guthrie earlier in the day after the “Today” show anchor prefaced her question by noting the senator’s shifting views on Israel, Iran and the defense budget. “No, no, no, no, no, listen, you’re editorializing,” he told Guthrie.

The episode reminded some of his February interview with CNBC, when Paul shushed a reporter when she interrupted him with a question about his corporate tax holiday.

Later Tuesday, Paul again “grew testy” when an Associated Press reporter, who is male, pressed the senator over whether he supports abortion in cases of rape or incest.

“I gave you about a five-minute answer,” Paul said, while dodging the question. “Put in my five-minute answer.”

His interview with CNN went much smoother, even though Blitzer took a similar tack as Guthrie and inquired about Paul’s previous support for ending foreign aid to Israel, and his 2007 remark that Iran wasn’t “a threat to our national security.”

Join the conversation!

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, vulgarity, profanity, all caps, or discourteous behavior. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain a courteous and useful public environment where we can engage in reasonable discourse.